The Art Thief

By: Noah Charney

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Rome: In the small Baroque church of Santa Giuliana, a magnificent Caravaggio altarpiece disappears without a trace in the middle of the night.

Paris: In the basement vault of the Malevich Society, the curator is shocked to discover the disappearance of the Society's great treasure, White-on-White by Suprematist painter Kasimir Malevich.

London: At the National Gallery of Modern Art, the museum's newest acquisition is stolen just hours after it was purchased for 6.3 million pounds.

Three apparently unrelated art thefts in three separate cities have more in common than anyone imagines. As a renowned art investigator, a police inspector, and a Scotland Yard inspector take up their separate investigations, a trail of bizarre clues and intellectual puzzles reveals forgeries, over-paintings, and double-crosses in an ever-deepening conspiracy.

©2007 Noah Charney (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"Charney constructs an intricate web of crime, bolstering a sensational plot with well-crafted characters and extensive research. Eventful and exciting, The Art Thief is an enthralling novel." (Vernon Rapley, head of the Art & Antiques Unit, New Scotland Yard)

What a listen!

Where does The Art Thief rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I have to rank this high on my list of great audiobooks. The reading was superb and the story excellent.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

This story is full of twists and turns, crosses, double crosses and triple crosses. I never knew what to expect from one moment to the next.

What does Simon Vance bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The reader really brings out the humor in the book. I started with the print version, and it was only after I switched to the audio after chapter 3 that I realized how much I had been missing.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

What can you believe?

Any additional comments?

I frequently have trouble following audiobooks. This one was easy and renewed my interest in them.

Thoroughly enjoyed the story and the dialog

I was pleasantly surprised that this audiobook was so entertaining. The dialog and visual storytelling took me back to the BBC and VOA radio shows i used to listen to with the shortwave from Athens. Wonderful.

Thoroughly enjoyed!

This book was a fun surprise. I bought it thinking it was a nonfiction book with a very similar title and was instead pleasantly surprised by this delightful story. The characters were fantastic and it kept you guessing till the end. As soon as I finished it, I started over again because I wasn't ready to say goodbye to the characters yet and I also wanted to see if I could catch the clues I missed along the way. Very fun, enjoyable book. The reader did a great job. My only critical comment is that sometimes the transition from one setting to another got lost. It's probably the kind of thing that would be evident in the physical book that is harder to convey in an audiobook. But that is a minor thing.

lots of fun, and fun characters

While this book is not high art by any stretch, I enjoyed it from cover to cover. There were parts that were a bit weak or pedantic, but for the most part, it was quite enjoyable. I laughed quite a few times and there are wonderful turns-of-phrase throughout. The characters are characters in more than one sense of the word.
Enjoy.

Clever but Convoluted

A good mystery is one with a good measure of surprise without coming from left field. The story was clever and mostly well constructed but parts were a bit forced. Some characters were well crafted but others were a bit flat. Despite the flaws, it is well worth the time. The narrator was spectacular.

Sophisticated entertainment

I’ve listened to this book at least 3 times. It’s so rich with humor and the machinations of the art world. And the characters are delightfully fleshed out and entertaining.

this book tried too hard

This book started out well. I selected it # 1Because Simon Vance waa the reader and he waa excellent # 2 love the subject of art thievery and used to work for a museum. I was lost three quarters of the way through, characters not defined enough. Very dissapointing.

Art Thief satisfies

Liked it all reader was excellent and the story was good and your 15 word minimum is an reasonable requirement for a volunteer activity
How do I exit…. The X nor the submit button activate ?

Let some else steal this one

The idea is exciting but the plot and characters are hard to follow in audio format. Clearly the author is knowledgable in art but not so cleaver at book writing.

A Dud

Somehow, this book never seemed to get going. The description sounded so good, but the story seems to drag on and on without progress. I read or listen to at least half of most books, because some great books start slow but pick up. I crossed the half point on this one and it's still a dud.